How I Saved Your Life and Made it Mine
by Kureru Elric
Summary: Title sucks! But it's good, I promise.  Naruto works at the World Trade Center. It's unfortunate for him that he had to work that day in September, when life itself got flipped upside down. 9/11 Fic ONESHOT


**SasuNaru FF by Kureru Elric**

**How I Saved Your Life and made it Mine**

**DISCLAIMER- I don't own Naruto. If I did, I dare say, I could rule the world!1**

**WARNING- contains scenes of graphical violence, blood, intense action scenes. Rated M for all these things plus possible yaoi.**

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_**Dedicated to all those who died and those who suffered losses on September 11**__**th**__**, 2001.**_

* * *

Naruto sighed. It was just another boring day at his cubicle on the 20th floor of the World Trade Center, North building. He had gone over the location so many times in his head since he started there two weeks ago. He leaned back in his chair, ignoring the pile of files on his desk he had to go through. 'Only a few more hours and I'll see Sasuke again.' he thought with a smile. 'It's finally our one-month anniversary!'

Truth be told, Naruto had already gotten Sasuke's gift two weeks in advance. He had seen his boyfriend looking at it in a story window and thought that would be the perfect thing. The only thing standing in between him and a great night: the stack of paperwork staring him in the face.

"Might as well get started." he said. Naruto scooted closer to his desk and began to work, not noticing the two airplanes circling the two buildings from a distance.

* * *

Sasuke wandered down the road about three blocks away from Naruto's workplace. He was debating, still, whether he should get his dobe a gift card to his favorite restaurant or the photo frame with the foxes on it. It wasn't like him to put things off until the last minute, but his mind had been preoccupied with his own job as a police man. He had convinced his boss Shikamaru to give him a few days off of work to celebrate, but that doesn't mean that Shikamaru went easy on him with paperwork. He had to bring his work home with him for the first time in a year.

Sasuke's head snapped up when he heard the sound of an airplane flying over his head. He looked up, surprised. There were two of them. They weren't big planes, 727's maybe. But what surprised Sasuke and made him look harder was the fact that they were so low to the ground, just barely over the height of the buildings where Naruto worked. There wasn't an airport in the immediate area, so Sasuke just guessed that they were waiting for clearance to land. He kept walking.

The roar of the planes echoed in his ears. Something was up. 'I just can't put my finger on it,' he thought.

It was a few seconds later when Sasuke looked back, realizing that it wasn't just his imagination that the planes where getting louder. They flew over his head and towards the World Trade Center. Sasuke watched in pure terror as they crashed into the buildings.

* * *

Naruto sat back in his leather swivel chair and sighed. He was halfway done with a few hours left. "I need a break," he said aloud. "Maybe I'll go down to the 15th floor and try out that new café! Now there's an idea!" He got up and left his desk, passing by some large windows on his way to the stairs.

"That's funny." he said. Two airplanes were flying around by the towers, and they were both dangerously close to the ground. "The airport isn't near here, is it? So why are there planes here?" He winced as the roar of the engines reached his ears. "Geez, why are there airplanes here?"

"Something wrong, Naruto-kun?" a female voice asked.

Naruto turned to see TenTen, one of his best friends in the workplace. "Oh, hi TenTen! Nothing, really, I was just wondering why these planes are so low to the ground."

TenTen's eyes filled with confusion, but that cleared as she saw the two planes fly past again. "That's weird," she said. "I've never seen anything like this before."

"Me neither." Naruto changed the subject. "I was just going down to the café on the 15th floor. Wanna come?"

"Sure!" she smiled.

The two of them walked down the stairs, conversing about the usual things. It wasn't until they passed a window on the 16th floor stairway. Naruto and TenTen stared out the window at the airplanes.

"Is it just me," TenTen said, "or are the planes getting closer to the towers?"

"I think they are." Naruto responded. He meant to say it in his usual voice, but it came out more as a whisper. They stared out the window for a while longer. Naruto closed his eyes for a few seconds, his stomach feeling queasy. 'Why do I feel like something bad is going to happen?' he thought.

"Naruto?" TenTen said slowly. "I think we need to get out of here."

Naruto's eyes opened again. The airplane was so much closer. "They're gonna hit the towers!" he said. "No time to run! Hide somewhere!"

He grabbed TenTen's wrist, pulled her into the main work area of the 16th floor and shoved her under a desk. He had just gotten under it himself when the planes hit the towers.

* * *

**Naruto POV**

The noise in my ears was so loud I thought my ear drums were going to burst. There was a strange combination of a roar, a crash, and an explosion. I was vaguely aware of TenTen screaming beside me. I clutched her hand with one of mine and used the other to cover my neck. She did the same.

I dared to open my eyes for a second. There were papers and office supplies scattered on the floor. I looked closer and saw that they were scattered among bits of broken desks, chairs, and cubicle walls. I couldn't believe it. I didn't think that something could ever happen here. Not this!

I squeezed TenTen's hand harder in an effort to comfort her. She scooted closer to me and I wrapped my arm around her. I noticed that there were a few cuts on her arm that were bleeding somewhat badly. There were some on both of mine too. Funny, I didn't notice.

"TenTen." I said loudly. "We need to get out of here! It's not safe!"

"I agree!" She yelled back.

The two of us stood up slowly in case there was something else there. We surveyed the area. It was so weird to see this. Debris on the ground, small fires with thick black smoke rising from them, and the bodies of a few people I didn't know who were covered in blood. I didn't need to walk over to them to know that they were dead. Wow, we were lucky to be alive!

The two of us stumbled around the wreckage to the stairway. I forced the door open. The light had gone out but the stairs were still intact. I walked carefully to the handrail and peered upwards. I gasped. The entire stairwell above us was completely destroyed. Walls were caved in and there were large fires among the debris.

I turned back to TenTen. I just noticed now that her hair had come out of the two buns that were usually on the sides of her head. She looked cute with her hair down, but this wasn't the time to be thinking about that! We could've just died!

"Let's just go!" she yelled. She grabbed at my wrist and pulled me down the stairs to the main floor. There was a rumbling above us that kept getting louder. I knew what was going to happen before it did, and I pushed TenTen out of the way. The ceiling collapsed a bit near me. I yelled out at the feeling of the heavy sheetrock hitting my body. It was so heavy I was forced to the ground, lying on my stomach.

"Naruto!"

"TenTen just go! G-get help!" I coughed and felt a wet substance enter my mouth. I spit the blood out onto the rubble. Shit. I know I'm screwed now. I can't move either of my legs and my arms were sore to no end. "S-Sasuke…" I mumbled before laying my head down on the ground.

* * *

**Sasuke POV**

Shit! No no no no no no no! That did NOT just happen! The airplanes had crashed into the buildings where my dobe worked. "Naruto!" I screamed, running towards the towers.

I arrived in seconds. The sight in front of me was just pure chaos. The tops of the towers were completely gone, only to be replaced with large fires and thick black smoke. There was rubble and other debris all over the ground. There were people stumbling out of the buildings and fire trucks and ambulances pulling up.

I didn't know where to begin. There were search-and-rescue teams running into the World Trade Center buildings and other groups walking out with survivors. I waited for a few minutes but there was no sign of Naruto anywhere. I was oblivious to everything around me until I heard someone call my name.

"Sasuke!"

I looked up. TenTen was running out of the entrance to Naruto's building. I knew that she was a good friend of Naruto's and they worked together on a lot of projects. Her hair was completely down and there were cuts on her arms and left leg, but she was in one piece.

"TenTen are you alright?" I said as she ran up to me and grabbed my sleeve.

"I'll be fine." She panted. "But Naruto's still in there!"

"Where?" I demanded.

"The ceiling… it collapsed. Naruto pushed me out of the way and he's under the rubble now!"

I left her in the care of some doctors from the ambulances and rushed towards the burning and exploding buildings. Lucky for me I always carried my police badge with me, 'cause I was almost stopped. I flashed the gold badge at the man and continued towards the building.

The inside was just as bad, if not worse, as the outside. Broken pieces of the ceiling were all over the floor and there were bodies that were buried under stuff. I searched around and finally found my dobe under some large slabs of sheetrock and metal beams. His bright blonde hair had lost some of its light and he was covered in blood. There was also blood on the sheetrock by his head.

"Naruto!" I yelled. I ran towards him and he twitched a bit when I knelt down beside him. I carefully turned his head so I could see his face and he moaned. His face was covered in cuts and bruises. "Naruto," I said quieter. "Can you hear me?"

His eyes opened a little bit and then closed again. He mumbled something I didn't quite catch, and then was still.

* * *

**Naruto POV**

God this was the most pain I had ever been in, in my entire life. I had already lost all feeling in my body from my waist down, and I was starting to lose feeling in my arms as well. They were tingling and it hurt a lot. I could hear explosions above me somewhere, but my mind was slowly going blank.

I struggled to breathe, but it hurt. I definitely broke a couple of ribs. I couldn't move at all. Was this really how I was going to die? Half-buried under piles of sheetrock from a building that was slowly crumbling around me. And what was worse, the thing that was so bad that it made my heart clench in fear, I wouldn't get the chance to see Sasuke again.

I vaguely heard someone calling my name. But I could feel myself passing out and I couldn't hear very well. I felt the presence of someone as they knelt down beside me. They placed their hand lightly on my head and I moaned as they twisted my hand to face them. The hands were cool but at the same time comforting. "Naruto," I heard a man's voice say. "Can you hear me?"

I used what little energy I had left to open my eyes a slit. My vision was blurry, but I could still make out the raven black hair and the shocked and concerned expression on a pale face.

"Sa. Su. Ke." I tried, but it came out as a whisper, or maybe even a mumble. Whatever it was, Sasuke was there. I smiled a bit and closed my eyes, blacking out from this world.

* * *

**Sasuke POV**

Oh God no! Not Naruto! God can't be cruel enough to take him from me right now! "Dobe stay awake! Don't fall asleep!" I yelled, but I doubt he heard me.

I struggled desperately to move the heavy sheetrock of his body. I cut up my own arm in the process, but I managed to shove enough of the ceiling off his body to drag him out. I carefully patted his body, looking for more injuries. He had defiantly broken a rib or two, and there was something wrong with both of his legs. Careful not to disturb him, I picked him up bridal style and carried him out of the destroyed building.

TenTen ran up to us the moment I got out there. I could tell she was just as worried as me. "The last ambulance just left," she said sadly. "They won't send anymore for a while because the hospitals are getting full."

"We need to get him treated now!" I insisted.

She paced back and forth for a second. "I know!" she said at last. "There's a small clinic that a friend of mine runs that'll treat major injuries if you pay them high enough. We can go there!"

"Lead the way."

~Time skip *skips around*~

We arrived at the clinic. The sign on the front said Hokage, and the woman at the counter inside was Shizune, who was running the place while the real doctor Tsunade was out drinking. She immediately agreed to help Naruto and brought us into a back room with a lot of medical equipment.

"Set him down there!" she said urgently, gesturing to a bed. I layed Naruto's bloody body down onto it. Shizune stuck a few tubes into his body that began to pump blood and other medicines into him. "You need to leave," she said.

"We're not going anywhere!" TenTen said.

"Then at least leave the room. You don't need to see this."

She ushered us from the room and left us to sit on some chairs. We waited for a few minutes, not hearing anything. I finally gave in and asked, "Why can't we hear anything?"

"The walls and door," TenTen responded. "They're sound-proof. Tsunade and Shizune built this place with the families in mind. They didn't want them to get worried if they heard the patient screaming or something."

We were silent for another minute.

"Were you in the area when the planes hit?" she asked me.

I hesitated, remembering the sight he had witnessed. "Yeah, I was about 4 blocks away. I saw the planes crash."

"Are you sure they crashed? It seemed fishy to me."

"Yeah, if you ask me, the two planed deliberately ran into the buildings. They were circling the World Trade Center for sometime before actually ramming into them."

"Terrorists, do you think?"

"It's possible."

TenTen shivered at the thought of the planes being hijacked. "If they were hijacked, wouldn't that mean that there were people on them too? What happened to them?"

"They're dead," I said simply and bluntly. "If the planes were hijacked, then the terrorists either killed everyone onboard the moment they took control, or they kept them alive and killed them when they crashed. The planes exploded upon impact."

TenTen gasped. "So it was a suicide mission then! There would've been no way the terrorist people survived."

"Perhaps."

We waited. My thoughts lingered back to Naruto. He had always complained to me that luck was never on his side. I'm sure somewhere at his house there's a bracelet or something that says "Karma's a bitch" on it. It just had to be today that he had to work and I didn't. He would've been let off for the rest of that day and the next two days after if the day had carried on like normal.

But now I was sitting in the waiting room for a small clinic while my dobe was inside the room most likely being operated on. And I was sitting here doing nothing. I felt so useless. 'Oh, Naruto, forgive me.' I thought.

The minutes passed by into hours. TenTen had run home in that time and changed into something cleaner. She also had taken the bandages off her arms. There were scars, but they were healing well. Her hair was back up in its usual style.

"How's it going in there?" she asked me. I just shook my head. I didn't know. Shizune hadn't come out yet.

The door opened and Shizune walked out. I spoke too soon.

"Naruto will live." she reported. "But he'll be in a wheelchair for a while. Both of his tibias were crushed in the impact. He also had a few broken ribs, muscle tears in his stomach, and a broken arm. He's also cut up really bad on his arms, face, and neck. He's asleep, but you can go in and see him now."

TenTen and I rushed into the room. Nothing could've prepared me for the sight in front of us. Even TenTen gasped at the sight of her co-worker. Naruto's face, neck, and left arm were covered in bandages and wrappings. I could guess that there were more on his abdomen, but that was covered by a blanket. His right arm was in a cast as well as both of his legs. I couldn't see them, but the large lumps under the blanket gave it away. There was a breathing device covering his mouth, and multiple other cords sticking out of his body.

TenTen brushed her hand over the cast on his arm. Her head bent over and her bangs covered her eyes, but I could tell she was crying. "I-it's all my f-fault!" she sobbed. "He was pushing _me_ out of the way! That should be me there!" She sobbed even harder.

Instinct took over and I rubbed my hand up and down her back, pulling her close to me. Hey, I may be attracted to Naruto but I've loved TenTen like a sister from the moment Naruto introduced her to me. "There there," I whispered. "Crying won't do any good now. Naruto did what he did to save you, and I'm sure he doesn't regret it."

She cried for another minute until I felt her breathing become steady. She had fallen asleep in my arms. Laughing to myself, I set her down on a bed next to Naruto and covered her. I myself then pulled up a chair besides Naruto's bed.

I took his hand in mine and squeezed it gently. "Wake up soon dobe. I love you." I rested my head down next to his hand and fell asleep.

* * *

**Naruto POV**

Was I dead? I really didn't know. It sure hurt enough to be dead, or at least dying. Yet something told me that death hadn't claimed me yet. I was lying down on something. Something warm. My entire body was warm. Huh… guess that must mean I lived.

I didn't want to open my eyes, but the slight pressure on my left had seemed familiar in a way. I slowly opened one eye at a time and was hit with a dim light in a small room. Well, that makes it official; I have no clue where the hell I am.

I turned my head to my left and I saw a head of familiar black hair. Sasuke, but how? He had my hand gripped in his, and I could tell that he was asleep. Which reminded me, what time was it?

"…suke." Oh God! Even speaking hurt! What happened to me? "…suke, wake… up…"

Sasuke moaned a bit and raised his head. His eyes found mine and he immediately snapped them completely open. "Oh Naruto!" he exclaimed. Rather loudly, I might add. Well, it was loud enough that my head began to throb. Seeing my pain, Sasuke reached out and rubbed my hair. "Sorry," he said, quieter. "I didn't mean to hurt you."

"S'okay…" I slurred. "…you…here…when and…how?"

I listened quietly as Sasuke told me about what had happened. It seemed different coming from him. Not like the pure terror I had felt when I was running away.

"You've been asleep for at least 9 hours. TenTen fell asleep about 8 hours ago."

By this time I had gotten a bit of my strength back, or at least enough to exclaim "TenTen! Where is she? Is she okay?"

"Shh." Sasuke ran his fingers through my hair. "She's on the bed right next to you, but she's still asleep."

I winced as I tried to move my right arm. "That hurts! What happened to me?"

* * *

**Sasuke POV**

I couldn't help but hesitate. It was kind of a vague question. "Well, to put it in simple terms, you were crushed under a few hundred pounds of sheetrock and metal I-beams from a collapsing building. In terms of actual injuries, you have a few broken ribs, multiple scars and cuts all over your body, torn muscles in your abdomen, a broken arm, and both of your legs were crushed."

"And the World Trade Center? What happened to it?"

"I don't know right now. It was pretty bad when TenTen and I left with you. It's probably all over the news though." I reached for the remote and flipped to the local news channel.

"Reports are still flooding in on the tragedy of the World Trade Center." The woman on the screen said. "The death toll is still rising after nine hours, but it is estimated that 2,000 have died already. Bodies are still turning up, and it is no question that the number will rise by another 500 within the hour. It has been determined, however, that it was a terrorist attack. Two 727's were hijacked by a group known as al-Qaeda, and an estimated 19 people were involved. It is also estimated that all 19 are dead."

"Looks like my suspicions were right."

We tore our eyes away from the screen to see TenTen sitting up from her bed. "TenTen!" Naruto said. "Your alright!"

"Naruto!" She bolted off the bed and threw her arms around him. I could see him wince under her touch. "Sorry, I forgot your ribs are broken."

"It's alright." he said. "How about you?"

"Oh!" TenTen brushed her bangs back and rubbed her scared arms. "Just a few scratches. I'll be okay."

Naruto looked close to tears. "You got hurt because of me." he whimpered.

"NO!" TenTen and I said at the same time, making Naruto flinch. "None of this is your fault!" I said.

"You did what you had to do to protect me. I wanted to say thanks!" she insisted.

I wrapped my arm around him. "You're a hero Naruto. You saved her life."

He didn't say anything at first. But soon he nodded.

TenTen examined her watch. "I'd better get home. Neji will be home and wondering what's happened to me." Neji had been her boyfriend for the past 5 months, and despite being a bit overprotective, he was a great guy who really loved TenTen. He worked part-time in autopsy at the city morgue, and was associated with my line of work so we knew each other pretty well.

"Tell him I say hi," Naruto said.

TenTen gave him one final hug before leaving, leaving me alone with him. It wasn't until she had left the building that Naruto broke down and cried.

* * *

**Naruto POV**

I broke down. I just couldn't hold it anymore! Seeing myself in the hospital bed, hooked up to all the machines, Sasuke's worried face, the stuff on the news, and TenTen's scarred arms was just too much for me to handle. Tears streamed down my face and soaked into the bandages, but I didn't try to stop them.

Sasuke gently rubbed my head like he usually did to calm me down. "There there…" he said softly. "Cry all you want, it's nothing to be ashamed of."

"I was so scared!" I said. "I didn't know what to do! Hell, I watched the airplanes fly closer and closer to the building!"

"Shhh," he said. "There was nothing you could've done to stop it. You did the right thing, protecting TenTen like that. You are a true hero, Naruto. And what matters now is your recovery." His hand left my hair and went to my cheek, caressing the small patch of visible skin there before kissing me softly. "Good night, Naruto. I love you."

"G'night Sasuke…" I whispered, and I let sleep overcome me. I knew now what Sasuke meant when he said I was a hero. Part of me wished I could've saved more lives, but I was satisfied with what I did, and it was that thought, combined with my thoughts of Sasuke and his words of "I love you", that let me fall asleep with a smile on my face.

* * *

**Rushed ending, but I like how it turned out. R&R please!**


End file.
